Shaping the future of your company - ideal brands or brand ideals?

Tim Wragg is CEO of Millward Brown in Europe, a leading research agency specialising in brand, media and communications. He has a lifelong interest in brands and extensive experience advising marketers in the art and science of influencing consumer choice.

Ask any consumer or end user what makes an ideal brand and you’ll more than likely hear familiar words such as fashionable, current, trend-setting, reliable, value for money, quality and trustworthy. These are, of course, all perfectly acceptable descriptors. For those customers regularly expressing brand loyalty when purchasing products or services, such values justify their decisions.

These, along with many other brand values, allow us a valuable insight into the perceptions, beliefs and experiences society has towards individual companies, and will often validate its decision-making processes when choosing one particular brand or service over another.

However, is ensuring a strong brand identity simply enough to sustain long-term growth and continued financial profitability? Maintaining an enviable reputation in the market place, whilst engaging stakeholders, whether they are employees, investors, customers, etc. in a meaningful and transparent way is of course paramount to the success of any business.

But should companies begin to think more strategically? Is there an alternative viewpoint that is proving fundamental to the success of new and existing brands? What do some of the most successful brands in the market today have in common? Tim Wragg, European CEO Millward Brown, acknowledges the importance and desire for companies to have an ideal brand but suggests that ‘Brand Ideals,’ are far more influential in determining the long-term success of both new and well-established brands.

Brand Ideals

“A Brand Ideal is a higher-order benefit that a brand gives to the world. It aims to actively improve the quality of people’s lives and creates a meaningful goal for the brand, aligning employees and the organisation to better serve its customers.

The concept of Brand Ideal was borne out of a study three years ago with Proctor & Gamble (P&G). More recently, we have carried out research with Jim Stengel who, in his upcoming book ‘Grow’ analyses the results of ten years empirical research involving 50,000 different companies. What our research showed is that the Top 50 businesses all had impressive brand ideals which aimed at improving people’s lives. This in turn had a knock on effect within the culture of an organisation. The organisation’s external communications and reputation then delivered on high standards of customer experience.

The central finding to our research was that those businesses driven by a higher ideal or a higher purpose, not only outperformed their competitors by a wide margin, but often created entirely new sectors, and businesses which experienced rapid and sustainable growth. This makes a compelling case for those businesses that don’t simply treat its brand as part of the marketing or public relations department, but espouse its core values to all stakeholders, both internal and external.

We looked at those brands that have experienced the most growth over the last ten years, both in terms of equity and financial profitability. We discovered that these successful brands are all built on ‘ideals’. It made no difference as to geographical location, the type of business (B2B, CPG, products or services), size of the organization; all shared a common ideal that aligned itself to a higher purpose, tapping into fundamental human values.

Let’s take a look at the most valuable brand in the world today – Apple. Its brand values aren’t about manufacturing the latest and trendiest consumer gadgets in a fiercely competitive market. Its brand ideal has a much higher purpose. Apple has a virtually monopoly in the market for self-expression. Quite simply, Apple’s brand ideal empowers people to express themselves. Steve Jobs has led an organisation that has created a market that it singularly owns. We predict that the best businesses of the future will be those that, like Apple, serve a human ideal.

Other companies, such as Red Bull, may indeed metaphorically ‘give you wings’ but its Brand Ideal is to uplift mind and body, and in doing so energise the world. Harley-Davidson does more to persuade its customers to buy classic-looking motorbikes. Its Brand Ideal aims to free people from the chains of convention. It strives to fuel the passion of freedom through its customers desire to express their own individuality. Brand Ideals go way beyond corporate mission statements. They aim to connect in a much more real and holistic way by getting in touch with our basic human needs and desires.

These Brand Ideals are enabling organisations to grow and outperform their competitors. Moreover, companies that are devoted to a Brand Ideal establish a more important purpose which transcends product or service function and provides an overarching purpose for everything it does – literally creating a golden pathway to success.

Why, not what

Millward Brown’s research shows that brands that adjust their thinking as to ‘why’ they are in business rather than ‘what’ they are in business for, experience higher financial growth and increased equity value. In other words, rather than businesses asking, ‘What product or service do we need to create or maintain to ensure customer loyalty?’ Questions such as, ‘Why does our brand exist and what impact are we seeking to make in the world? What is our inspirational reason for being?’ are perhaps far more relevant.

Having a clear and compelling brand ideal that speaks to universal human instincts, hopes and values allows an organisation to communicate its beliefs and messages both internally to employees and to external consumers. This shapes the perception and desire to work for such companies, driving productivity, ideas, enthusiasm and ultimately profit. It’s time for companies to look at the bigger picture. To communicate clear and consistent messages across a business and to employ people who share similar ideals and values. We all know what makes an ideal brand but ensuring we have strong brand ideals is surely the more effective and sustainable way for companies to gain strong brand recognition.